I urge you not to read those articles all three in a row unless you want to get the sense that the traditional publishing industry is, um, a little nervous about how relevant it is in the future and mildly uncertain about what it should be doing.

I've been out of the publishing game a while, but it's worth taking a deep breath and remembering some things: a) This is still a print world (yes, still), and publishers are still best at getting paper to customers (yes, still). b) Some authors will still benefit from the collection of services publishers offer into the new era.

But also: Publishers must think about how their brands matter in the new era, especially to consumers, and how they can make themselves indispensable to an author's sales figures and bottom line. Right now they ain't getting it done by relying on authors for their own promotion and offering very little added value except for a few titles a season (who are often the titles that need the least boost).

But the sky isn't falling yet.

Whew! Meanwhile, Kassia Krozser at Booksquare previews the Tools of Change conference and tackles the perennial topic of print/e-book bundling.

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comments:

writersink
said...

I missed your "This Week in Books!"

I actually live in the UK, and I've heard a couple people say that we're about three years behind you Americans in terms of technology in publishing. Here, publishers are a big deal and the whole e-book fad is not really a fad.

If ever you get bored of e-books, Nathan, just pop over to London. (But you'd better do it within the next three years.)

Still a print world? Hard to argue if you include coffee table books, text books, and non-fiction. But I'd like to see how much of a print world it is if you are only talking about fiction. The fiction section at B&N is maybe 1/6th of the store.

I guess it doesn't matter. It's only a matter of time before B&N is out of business, and with the uproar going on right now regarding Amazon, I'm guessing time is shorter than any of us realize.

Great summary, as usual! The publishing industry articles are eye-opening.

I had my own somewhat frightening light-bulb moment in B&N a few weeks ago. For the first time, the book that interested me most on the shelves was one that I had already seen as a self-pub'd e-book online months before. I thought 'Well, duh B&N, the whole world new it could be a great read before you did! And the author probably gets a bigger chunk online anyway. Why should I buy it from you?'

It made me a little sad, because I've been so disappointed by the overall selection at B&N lately. This was just one more step to convincing me I'm better off searching for new reads elsewhere.

You know, everyone makes digital publishing sound so wonderful and traditional publishing so awful on the interwebs. I'm in digital and it's not all that wonderful. There are a lot of people who pretend to know what they are doing and don't. And people who shouldn't have voices now do have voices, which confuses new authors. After learning what I now know, from how bestseller lists are fixed to how digital publishers push and shove to make very little money, I'd still advise new authors to go the traditional route for now.

I believe that when everything settles down, which it will, there's going to be a lull that will make the real estate bust look like nothing. And that's because so much of what we read is mostly hype. Just based on digital prices alone (.99), authors can't make a viable living. And no one wants to work for next to nothing.

In terms of Publisher anxiety, thanks for sharing the links. And I love your "elephant in the Amazon" phrase!

In terms of the anxiety, I think it's really good that publishers are acknowledging that they are facing a daunting competitor. Acknowledging that is good, it may pave the way for them to take some action.

There are things they could be doing - like you said, Nathan - courting authors, developing loyalty, strengthening their imprint, offering stronger service packages. I hope they start soon, because I believe the train is moving really fast.

And they need to plan for a complete technology shift. It may take a few more years, but I believe e-book technology is the future. And I hope publishers look that in the eye and plan ahead. How they be relevant in a digital world. You can't deal with something unless you let yourself see it clearly.

As much as I love Amazon, and what it has done for the author, I want it to have competition. I'm a self-publisher advocate, but I'd love to feel tempted by the publishing world because talented people offered competitive and alluring services and royalty rates.

The Big 6 need Amazon. 50% of all books in the country are sold through Amazon, and 70% of all ebooks. What they're doing now with this boycott is a game. They don't have teeth.

The B&N and Friends boycott is really no big deal to Amazon Published authors. Hundreds of indies still carry the books, and the print versions are available on Amazon. The boycott might account for a couple thousand sales at the most. That might sound like a lot, but when you compare it to the tens (or hundreds) of thousands of copies some Amazon Authors sell digitally, it's barely a drop.

This boycott has shown the book stores true colors. They have finally come out and proven what I've expected for a while, and that's the fact they don't care about writers. Amazon has shown that both publishers and bookstores are meaningless, and the only people that matter in the entire chain are the author and the reader. Hard to swallow for bookstores, but it is a fact.

Nathan, I think that in your comment, "But the sky isn't falling yet," the operative word is yet. At least when it comes to the big publishing houses.

This week, Kodak completed its almost seven-year-old plan to get out of the digital camera business. It's not a business that can sustain a big company; digital photography has become the province of small companies that can live on paper-thin margins.

Recorded music used to be an entire industry with a few well-known labels. But with digital, it's not a business that can sustain a big company. You think iTunes is big business? What percent of Apple's sales come from the iTunes store, including iBooks and the App Store? In the past calendar quarter (Oct-Dec 2011), it was less than five percent of Apple's total sales.

We still have vinyl records and we still have CDs, we still have film, and we'll still have paper books. But they'll be niche markets for small companies to fill. And big companies can't live on the trifle that consumers will pay for digital goods; it's not a game that big companies can afford to play.

Well, interestingly, Amazon is said to be contemplating opening retail stores, in part I'm guessing because other bookstores aren't willing to carry their publishing imprints, and also, because "studies have shown" brick and mortar still drives the majority of book sales.

So, put me in the "sky is not falling" camp. I totally agree that many publishers have some work to do, and that branding is something more of them should be doing, as is doing a better job of promoting what they publish. But while there are a lot of things I'd change if I were Queen of the Publishing Universe, I actually don't think Amazon is going to end up owning it.

(I was feeling a bit depressed about your insightful post, until I saw my word verification was Gaudi. If that doesn't convey an image of optimism, I don't know what does. They've been working on Gaudi's cathedral in Barcelona for 100 years, and never gave up!) (Although maybe comparing the publishing industry to a decaying unfinished building is not the best thing to do) :-)

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